Known Structure, Unknown Function: An Inquiry-based Undergraduate Biochemistry Laboratory Course

TL;DR

This paper presents a year-long inquiry-based biochemistry lab course where undergraduates determine protein function through research, enhancing their skills and confidence in scientific investigation.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel, inquiry-based, two-semester curriculum that combines instruction and independent research in undergraduate biochemistry education.

Findings

Improved student performance and confidence in biochemical techniques.

Successful implementation of a research-oriented curriculum.

Accessible online resources for teaching biochemistry labs.

Abstract

Undergraduate biochemistry laboratory courses often do not provide students with an authentic research experience, particularly when the express purpose of the laboratory is purely instructional. However, an instructional laboratory course that is inquiry- and research-based could simultaneously impart scientific knowledge and foster a student's research expertise and confidence. We have developed a year-long undergraduate biochemistry laboratory curriculum wherein students determine, via experiment and computation, the function of a protein of known three-dimensional structure. The first half of the course is inquiry-based and modular in design; students learn general biochemical techniques while gaining preparation for research experiments in the second semester. Having learned standard biochemical methods in the first semester, students independently pursue their own (original) research projects in the second semester. This new curriculum has yielded an improvement in student performance and confidence as assessed by various metrics. To disseminate teaching resources to students and instructors alike, a freely accessible Biochemistry Laboratory Education resource is available at http://biochemlab.org.